Sensing devices of many different types are commonly employed in a variety of environments and applications. Sensing devices encompass a broad spectrum of devices including, for example, various light-sensing devices such as laser-sensing devices, light sensing devices that are capable of distinguishing among different colors of visible light, and devices for sensing various other types of radiation including infrared radiation or heat, microwave radiation, and x-ray radiation. Additionally, other sensing devices include, for example, devices that are capable of sensing the position of other structures, acoustic sensors, vibration sensors, motion sensors such as accelerometers, orientation sensors involving gyroscopes, and numerous other types of sensing devices.
Sensing devices are employed in a wide variety of industrial, commercial, military, residential and other environments and applications. For example, in industrial environments, light sensors are often employed in conjunction with conveyor systems such as those used in assembly lines. Such light sensors are often used to detect the presence of objects moving down an assembly line and to determine whether a given object has entered or exited a particular region of the assembly line. Light sensors of similar design can also be used in residential applications, for example, in connection with garage door openers. Also for example, in many commercial facilities as well as residential homes, various sensing devices are used in security systems in order to detect the presence of potential intruders within or nearby those facilities or homes. Sensing devices can further be implemented on vehicles, for example, to detect the presence of objects behind vehicles. Indeed, sensing devices are ubiquitous in today's modern world.
Although in some cases sensing devices are free-standing, typically sensing devices are mounted upon or in relation to other supporting structures. Further, in many if not most circumstances, it is desirable that the sensing devices be mounted in relation to such supporting structures in a fixed manner, or at least in a manner by which the location and orientation of a given sensing device relative to the supporting structure(s) and/or signal source(s) is known or predictable. For example, in the case of a light sensing device implemented in a manufacturing assembly line, it is typically desired that the light sensing device be fixedly orientated in a particular direction so as to be aligned to receive a light beam from a light source located elsewhere. The mounting of light sensing devices in other environments, such as in the case of garage door openers, similarly can entail the careful, fixed positioning of the sensing devices.
Although in many circumstances it is desirable for a sensing device to be mounted in a manner such that the position of the sensing device is accurately fixed or at least limited to being within a predictable or predetermined range, it is often difficult to install sensing devices such that the sensing devices are mounted in this manner. The panels, walls, protruding structures, and other supporting structures on which sensing devices are mounted can have a variety of different shapes, sizes, configurations, orientations and positions depending upon the circumstance. Consequently, mounting a sensing device onto a supporting structure by way of a simple procedure (e.g., simply attaching the sensing device to the supporting structure by way of bolts or screws) often does not result in a desired arrangement of the sensing device.
Although in some applications multiple sensing devices are intended to be respectively mounted on respective components of the same type in largely the same manner, in such cases there often still is insufficient standardization of the supporting structures or other related structures/devices to allow for the sensing devices to be mounted in a repetitive manner on the multiple structures without fine adjustment of the positioning of the individual sensing devices. Indeed, it is often the case that the supporting structures on which sensing devices are to be mounted are not designed or manufactured to the tolerances that should be satisfied in the positioning of the sensing devices to allow for proper operation of those sensing devices. Again for example with respect to assembly lines, while multiple light sensing devices might be respectively mounted on respective successive conveyor sections in an assembly line, fine adjustment of each of the positions of the sensing devices typically is still desirable to achieve proper alignment of those sensing devices with their respective light sources.
Given the above considerations, certain intermediary mounting structures or mechanisms have been developed that allow sensing devices to be mounted onto other supporting structures in manners that allow for some adjustment, in terms of the positioning of the sensing devices relative to the supporting structures (and/or other structures/devices, such as signal sources). Yet such conventional mounting mechanisms are limited in terms of their capabilities. In some cases, such conventional mounting mechanisms only allow very slight adjustments in the positioning of sensing devices relative to the supporting structures on which the sensing devices are being mounted via the mounting mechanisms. Also, the designs of many conventional mounting mechanisms make it difficult for persons installing sensing devices to achieve specific desired positions, that is, to finely adjust the positions of the sensing devices and set or lock the sensing devices in those positions.
Further, even where conventional mounting mechanisms allow for adjustment of the positioning of sensing devices, the process of installing the mounting mechanisms in relation to the supporting structures can complicate the positioning of the sensing devices. For example, some conventional mounting mechanisms employ a swivel ball on which a sensing device can be supported, where the swivel ball is captured between two semicircular brackets that are bolted together by bolts that simultaneously are used to bolt the entire assembly to a supporting bracket or wall. Such conventional mounting mechanisms can be difficult to install while at the same time achieving desired positioning of the swivel ball (and the sensing device), since the swivel ball can have a tendency to rotate in an uncontrolled manner or even fall out from between the brackets while a person installing the assembly is attempting to bolt the entire assembly to the supporting bracket/wall.
For at least these reasons, therefore, it would be advantageous if improved mounting mechanisms or structures for use in mounting sensing devices to other support structures could be developed. In particular, in at least some embodiments, it would be advantageous if such improved mounting mechanisms facilitated the accurate positioning of sensing devices with respect to other supporting structures and/or other structures or devices in a manner that allowed for significant variation in sensor positioning. Also, in at least some embodiments, it would be advantageous if the mounting mechanisms facilitated both installation and accurate positioning of the sensing devices in relation to supporting structures.